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The dramatic recovery of China's Luckin Coffee chain draws fans and skeptics

Mar 1, 2024
Luckin was punished for fabricating $300 million in sales, but now it has overtaken Starbucks' Chinese business. What's changed?
A Luckin coffee shop in Shanghai. Luckin has expanded to surpass Starbucks' business in China.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Starbucks is betting there aren't enough Starbucks

Nov 6, 2023
The beverage chain has a plan to grow to 55,000 locations globally, including some that specialize in drive-thru and delivery.
Starbucks plans to open more locations focused solely on delivery and drive-thru.

Twenty years on, pumpkin spice still has a hold on autumn (and America)

Sep 26, 2023
"It's just sort of become part of the fabric of our lives. It's now vanilla and chocolate and peppermint... and pumpkin spice," says food writer Emily Heil.
Unlike short-lived food fads, pumpkin spice has hung on for 20 years.
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images

Why so many workers are going on strike these days

Jun 28, 2023
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the number of workers who went on strike increased almost 50% last year, compared to 2021.
Above, striking Starbucks workers in November. Data show that the number of workers who went on strike increased by nearly 50% in 2022.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Fast food menu hacks are taking over TikTok

Apr 5, 2023
They create both chaos and money-making opportunities for businesses.
The rise of social media and digital ordering has spawned a slew of menu hacks and complex orders.
Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

Gen Z is the most pro-union generation

Many young workers have witnessed the effects of economic crises and are struggling with the gap between their wages and the cost of living.
Young Starbucks workers picket for their union outside a Starbucks store in Portland, Oregon, in the fall of last year.
Mitchell Hartman/Marketplace

Unionized Starbucks workers at more than 100 stores strike

Nov 17, 2022
Striking workers are taking advantage of a holiday promotion to protest the company’s approach to union negotiations.
Workers on strike outside of a San Francisco Starbucks on Nov. 17. Employees at more than 100 unionized Starbucks locations walked off the job Thursday.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Labor movement adds union members store by store

Aug 26, 2022
A Chipotle in Michigan and an REI in California are the latest to continue a trend defined by Starbucks.
A rally supporting a Starbucks union in Seattle in April. Experts say the close relationships in small workplaces can facilitate union organizing.
Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

Union petitions were up 56% in last 9 months, federal labor agency says

Jul 15, 2022
Young, college-educated workers at individual retail establishments like Starbucks stores are driving many organizing efforts.
More than 16% of the union election petitions submitted to the government came from Starbucks.
Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

Union labor complaint against Amazon takes aim at "captive audience" meetings

Feb 25, 2022
The practice of requiring workers to sit through anti-union presentations is common and currently legal.
A union supporter stands before sunrise outside the Amazon fulfillment center on March 29 in Bessemer, Alabama.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images